Relationships in Recovery - Addiction Recovery

How Sober Living Transforms Relationships

Deciding to get sober will transform your relationships with your loved ones and yourself for the better. The Forge Recovery Center can help.

How Sober Living Transforms Relationships

Table of contents

Written by

Brian MooreBrian Moore

Content Writer

Reviewed by

Jeremy ArztJeremy Arzt

Chief Clinical Officer

June 28, 2022

The Forge Recovery Center

Since COVID-19 was declared a national emergency in 2020, substance use and mental health disorders have been on the rise in the United States. As the world came to a halt, so did the ability of people to connect with their friends and loved ones in meaningful ways. 

As life amidst the pandemic becomes more manageable, you can see 2022 as a time of renewal. You can search for ways to take control of your mental health and addictions by transforming your relationships to promote healing and growth. Luckily, sober living can help you improve your relationships with your friends, family, and yourself.

Sober Living and Relationships

Relationships are a vital aspect of recovery. When you think of relationships, you may think of relationships between friends and family members. Positive relationships with friends and family can provide the encouragement you need when recovery becomes difficult. 

Learning to have a loving and supportive relationship with yourself is crucial to healing and growth. Sober living can help redefine relationships by allowing you to work together to face challenges. 

Transforming Relationships with Friends 

Having friends who support your goals is necessary on the road to recovery. Supportive friends can be a shoulder to cry on when things get complicated, and they can also be cheerleaders as you work towards your goals. 

Negative relationships can inhibit your journey to healing. Past relationships with individuals that encourage negative thinking, abusive behaviors, and substance use will not help you move forward. Sober living homes offer an opportunity for you to move on to the next chapter of your life by connecting with others that share your goals. 

Community of Peers

Being with a community of people who understand the challenges of recovery and are committed to healing offers an environment of support and encouragement to make the journey easier. Sober living also provides a place where judgment is overcome by acceptance and understanding, making it more comfortable for you to express your struggles as you move towards a brighter future. 

Transforming Relationships with Family

Like friendships, relationships with family members can offer encouragement, support, and understanding. Remember, addiction affects the family as a whole. Even in loving families, having a family member who struggles with addiction can cause stress for parents and siblings, often manifesting as fear, judgment, and anger. Working past these emotions and learning to communicate effectively as a family can take time and hard work. 

It also cannot be discounted that certain family members may not be healthy for you to be around during recovery. Not everyone has a picture-perfect family, and there are times when a family member may also encourage an unhealthy lifestyle. While this is an unfortunate circumstance for you to find yourself in, relationships with family, whether they are positive or negative, have the opportunity to be repaired through sober living. 

Learning to Work Together

Sober living offers the opportunity for those struggling with addiction to interact with family members in a meaningful and productive way. On weekends, family members have the chance to meet with you at your sober living home to engage in activities and connect. 

Family therapy is also offered in sober living homes, which can help teach family members how to work together to communicate positively and resolve conflict. Families that work together in this environment also help strengthen the recovery community and raise awareness about mental health and addiction disorders. 

Transforming Relationships with Oneself

If you are struggling with addiction, you may search for outside sources to fill a void. All too often, that void grows bigger as addiction begins to control your life. Self-love, self-care, and self-confidence deteriorate as addiction becomes the focal point of your life. 

Learning to Love Yourself

The journey to recovery can often feel overwhelming and complicated as you adjust to a new lifestyle, overcome cravings, break old habits, and work toward your goals. Recovery will take time, so learning to love yourself during recovery is so important. 

Self-love will allow you to be patient and compassionate with yourself on the hard days and help you fill the void with peace and happiness to sustain you on your journey. 

Sober living helps teach self-love with a supportive staff that can help you establish a routine grounded in self-care. On the days you are losing patience with yourself, they will be there to hold your hand and remind you that you are strong, and you can overcome addiction. 

You will also have access to therapies, medications, and a community of other individuals dedicated to healing that will help you restore your confidence in yourself and your abilities.

The Forge Recovery Center Will Help You Transform Your Relationship

At The Forge Recovery Center, we believe that there is no better time to change your relationships with your loved ones and yourself than now. We know that repairing past relationships, letting go of unhealthy ones, and creating new, healthy, connections with yourself and others can be overwhelming. That’s why we focus on providing a supportive community free of judgment and dedicated to your recovery.

We know there are bumps in the road to recovery, but we are here to make your journey worthwhile. To learn more, contact us today.

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